Skip to content

Troubleshooting

Jump to bottom
github-actions edited this page Oct 21, 2026 · 1 revision

Troubleshooting

Start here whenever something does not work. Almost every problem is listed below. If yours is not, run the self-check on the board, it names the likely cause in plain words:

ssh root@<board-ip>
sh /oem/picocam/doctor.sh

Paste its output into an issue if you need help.

Jump to: Connecting · Flashing · Installing · Web page · Video · AI · Storage · Network · Updates and recovery

Connecting

I can't reach 172.32.0.93

Work through this in order:

  1. Cable. Many USB cables only charge. Try another one that you know transfers data, and a different USB port (a port on the PC itself, not a hub).
  2. Wait. After power-on the board needs 20-30 seconds before the USB network appears.
  3. A new network adapter must appear on your PC. Windows: Settings > Network & Internet > Ethernet; if instead Device Manager shows "Unknown device" or "USB Serial Device", install the driver by hand (Install guide, step 2). Linux: ip -br link shows a new enx... or usb0. macOS has no driver for it: use a board with Ethernet.
  4. Give the PC side a fixed address: 172.32.0.100, mask 255.255.255.0, no gateway. The board does not hand out addresses over USB.
  5. ping 172.32.0.93. Still nothing? Disconnect other VPNs and virtual adapters that use 172.32.x.x (some Docker/VPN setups do), and check that the PC's Ethernet firewall profile allows ping.
  6. If you changed the camera's USB address earlier in Network & Time, it is no longer 172.32.0.93. Use the new one, or reach the board over Ethernet and reset it.

ssh says "Permission denied"

The password is luckfox on a fresh Luckfox image. After PicoCam's first start the root password is the admin password you chose (unless you turned that off in System > Security). Typing a wrong password too often can lock the login for a while.

ssh says "REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED"

You re-flashed the board or connected a different one at the same address, so the stored fingerprint does not match. The deploy scripts ignore this. For a manual ssh: ssh-keygen -R 172.32.0.93 (or your board's address), then connect again.

"Connection timed out" over the network cable

Look up the board's address in your router's client list. Boards can take up to a minute to get an address. If your router isolates devices ("AP isolation" / "client isolation"), turn that off or use the USB cable.

Flashing the board

The flashing tool does not see the board

Hold the BOOT button before plugging in USB and release it after a second. Install the Rockchip USB driver (DriverAssistant on Windows). Try another cable and port. The tool should report a Loader or Maskrom device.

The board does not boot after flashing

Wait a full minute. Use the image that matches your board and its storage (SPI NAND / eMMC / SD). Re-flash with the complete update.img. If you use an SD card, make sure the image was written completely (re-write it) and the card is in before power-on.

I flashed the Ubuntu image

PicoCam needs the Buildroot image. Flash it (Install guide, step 1).

Installing

The installer says "not enough space in /oem"

The board's flash is small. Use the lite package (deploy.sh --lite, deploy.ps1 -Lite) and add only the models you need later (Models). Free space: df -h /oem /userdata.

The installer says "/oem is read-only"

Run mount -o remount,rw /oem on the board, then the installer again.

The installer says "this is the Ubuntu image"

Flash the Buildroot image first. See above.

"No way to start PicoCam at boot on this image"

Your image has a read-only /etc and an unfamiliar launcher script. Please open an issue and include the output of cat /oem/usr/bin/RkLunch.sh; ls /etc/init.d /oem/usr/etc/init.d; this is fixable but needs your layout.

PowerShell says "running scripts is disabled"

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\picocam\tools\deploy.ps1

"The OpenSSH client is missing" (Windows)

Settings > Apps > Optional features > Add a feature > OpenSSH Client, then run it again.

The download failed

The scripts fetch the newest release from GitHub. Check your internet connection, or download picocam.tar.gz yourself from the Releases page and run deploy.sh -p picocam.tar.gz.

The web page

The page does not open

  1. Is the service running? sh /oem/picocam/doctor.sh on the board tells you. Start it with sh /oem/picocam/service.sh restart.
  2. The first start after install or update takes up to a minute (a new HTTPS certificate is created).
  3. Wrong port? The portal is on http://<ip>/ (80) and https://<ip>/ (443). If 80 was busy it uses 8080: http://<ip>:8080/.
  4. Your PC and the board must be in the same network (see Connecting).

"Your connection is not private" in the browser

Expected: the camera signs its own HTTPS certificate. Advanced > Continue, or use http://, or install your own certificate in System > Security.

I forgot the admin password

ssh root@<board-ip>, then sh /oem/picocam/doctor.sh reset-password. It removes the accounts only; settings and recordings stay.

Login keeps failing

After several wrong passwords the login is locked for a short time (it protects against guessing). Wait a few minutes. Passwords are case sensitive.

The page shows "Reconnecting..." at the bottom left

The live connection to the camera dropped (reboot, network change or a restart of the video after changing settings). It reconnects by itself.

Video

Live view does not play

  • It says "Connecting" forever: the camera may be restarting its video (changing resolution or AI does that); wait ten seconds. Press Reconnect (on the picture) once. If it stays, run doctor.sh: "no /dev/video"* means the camera module is not detected.
  • "This browser cannot play H.265": set the stream to H.264, or use Chrome/Edge.
  • Black picture: check the lens cap and, at night, whether the scene is simply dark. Image > Scene > Low light helps.
  • Delay of a second or more: you are probably on plain HTTP over a slow link, or a busy Wi-Fi. Try the sub stream or HTTPS.

The camera module is not detected (no /dev/video*)

Power off. Reseat the flat cable: lift the latch, push the cable in fully and straight, with the contacts facing the way Luckfox's wiring picture for your board shows, then close the latch. Make sure the module is one the Luckfox image supports. Power on again. Do not connect or disconnect the module while the board is powered.

No video after I changed a setting

Look at the AI page for a media-memory message. Lower the main-stream resolution or the number of AI stages, or raise the media memory where your board allows it.

The picture is too bright/dark, or flickers

Image > Scene: pick the right place. Flicker under indoor lights: Exposure > anti-flicker to 50 Hz (or 60 Hz in the Americas). Blown-out sky: leave Smart Exposure on.

The picture is upside-down

Image has mirror and flip.

The time on the picture is wrong

The board has no battery clock. Log in as admin once (the browser sets it), or Network & Time > Sync. Set the time zone there too.

VLC lags

Network caching to 150-300 ms. See Connecting.

An NVR or app cannot find the camera

Add it by address (ONVIF port 80). Automatic discovery needs the camera and the NVR in the same network segment and multicast allowed.

AI

AI does not start

Open AI & Analytics; the Engine panel says why. The usual reasons:

  • Not enough media memory. Lower the main resolution, remove a stage, or raise the media memory (Boards).
  • Model not valid. Wrong chip. Convert with --platform rv1103 or rv1106 to match System > Overview (Models).
  • No model chosen. Pick a template, or choose a detector.

Too many false detections / missing detections

Raise or lower Confidence threshold; draw a detection area so the model only looks at the road or gate; ignore tiny boxes (Ignore boxes smaller than). Good light and a steady camera matter more than any setting.

Plates are wrong at night

Use Image > Scene > Road / ANPR (short shutter) and add light. A short shutter in darkness needs an IR lamp or street light.

Storage and recording

"SD card unreadable"

Probably exFAT. Storage & Recording > Format (FAT32 or ext4). This erases the card.

Nothing is recorded

Check Storage & Recording: recording mode must not be off, the card must show free space, and for on events an AI rule or motion detection must trigger. A schedule only records in painted hours.

"Frames dropped: the card is too slow"

Use a Class 10 / U1 or better card, or record the sub stream, or lower the main bitrate.

Events are gone after a reboot

On SPI NAND boards without an SD card, pictures are kept in RAM on purpose. Insert an SD card, or enable Keep event pictures in internal flash (this wears the flash).

The card is not detected after pulling and re-inserting

Press Mount on the Storage page. If it is a different card, it mounts by itself within a few seconds.

Network

I changed the IP address and lost the camera

Unless you press Keep new settings within 60 seconds on the new address, the old settings come back. If that did not help, use the other interface (USB cable 172.32.0.93) to correct them, or sh /oem/picocam/doctor.sh factory-reset on the board.

Port 80/443/554 is already used

PicoCam uses the next free web port (80, then 8080) so the page is never lost. Change ports in Security / Integrations. A leftover vendor app (rkipc) holding RTSP: reboot once; PicoCam stops it at start-up.

Webhooks/Telegram fail with a certificate error

The camera checks HTTPS certificates. A wrong clock makes every certificate look expired: fix the time first. For a server with its own certificate, choose pin fingerprint or skip verification in that target's settings.

Updates and recovery

The update from the web page failed with "not enough free space"

The updater needs about three times the package size on /oem (current version, previous version, new version). It drops the rollback copy by itself if that is what it takes; if it still does not fit, use the lite package.

The camera keeps restarting after an update

It rolls back to the previous version by itself after several quick crashes. You can also press Roll back (System > Maintenance). Details: /userdata/picocam/crash.log and sh /oem/picocam/doctor.sh.

Everything is broken: start over

sh /oem/picocam/doctor.sh factory-reset        # default settings, keeps accounts/models/recordings
sh /oem/picocam/uninstall.sh --purge && reboot # remove PicoCam completely, back to the stock camera app

Then reinstall with deploy.sh. Last resort: re-flash the Luckfox image.

Where are the logs?

Web: System > Logs. Board: tail -f /tmp/picocam.log. Crash reports survive reboots in /userdata/picocam/crash.log.

Still stuck? Open an issue with the output of sh /oem/picocam/doctor.sh.

This wiki is generated from the files in the repository (docs/). To fix a page, send a pull request against the matching file.

PicoCam

Getting started

Going further

Project

Clone this wiki locally